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Home › Articles › Nutrition and Your Health › Bitter Sweet

Bitter Sweet

Is Sugar Such a Bad Thing?

By Carma Haley Shoemaker

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Dental Caries
On any given day, but especially around Halloween and Easter, you can hear numerous parents inform their children how too much candy will "rot their teeth." Regardless of how old this myth is, it is just as fictitious as the Great Pumpkin and Peter Cottontail.

"There is no evidence that sugar intake at current consumption levels plays a role in the development of disease," says Dr. Anderson. "Even dental disease is not unique to sugar. Sugar does not cause cavities any more than other fermentable carbohydrates – such as soft bread and raisins – that stay on the teeth and react with bacteria in plaque."

There is now considerable evidence that the concern about sugar consumption as reflected by the media and medial profession in the 1970s was misplaced. "I think we've misled people by saying sugar is bad," says Dr. Anderson. "America's sweet tooth may be essential for its health. The myths surrounding sugar and health are slow to disappear. Because these myths are misleading and harmful, nutrition educators need to continue to place sugar in the diet in perspective – the proper perspective."

Not Just for Eating

As sweet as it is, sugar is not just for use on your cereal or in your coffee. There are many other nonfood uses for sugar. Here are just a few:

  • Sugar slows down the hardening of concrete.
  • Sugar is used in leather tanning and in the sizing and finishing of textiles.
  • Sugar is used as a hydrophilic agent in printing inks.
  • You can create an effective repellent for water bugs by combining equal parts powdered sugar and borax and sprinkling it where you might find bugs.
  • Adding sugar to water helps keep cut flowers fresh.

In addition, sugar is said to cure hiccups, ease the burn of chili peppers, decrease halitosis and eliminate strong cooking odors from the kitchen when boiled with water.


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